[Movie 2000] Joint Security Area 공동경비구역 J S A

[rubie]

[quote name='sakki ' date='21 May 2012 - 09:52 PM' timestamp='1337658727' post='17780445']

. . . my first Lee Byung Hun movie . . . and, it's still the best for me . . . thanks rubie . . . such a nice article from imdb . . . and this list a lot of LBH's movies . . . now, i'm anticipating his role in GI Joe: Retaliation

[sakki ^_^]

Hi sakki! It's been a long time, huh. Good to see that you're active again at the Kdrama section.

JSA was my very first LBH movie, too.. watched it after Beautiful Days some 10 years ago.. 2 lethal dose of great acting back-to-back!

Stop over at the threads (either LeeByungHun / GI Joe 2) and tell us your thoughts when you've seen GI Joe: Retaliation ok.. not much longer now for it to be released. And there's 'The King of Joseon' after that.

*quoted image*

~ yeah, it's been a long time . . . i just got caught again by the k-drama fever that's why . . . i usually love this angst filled dramas

~ so, the actors thread are in a different page now isn't it . . . hmmm, i remember me posting a lot in LBH page and in most of his dramas and movies threads before soompi website was changed . . . ahhh, those were the days . . . i was like a vampire of anything LBH then

~ now, i'm so happy for him breaking thru the hollywood market and of course, i haven't missed watching the first GI Joe (even though he's a villain)

~ hmmmm, i haven't seen the GI Joe 2 thread yet . . . but i have read the King of Joseon thread already

[rubie]

July 4, 2012
Park Chan-wook: Director with blood-coated lensBy Andrew Salmon The Korea times
Director Park Chan-wook, left, waves as he is awarded with actor Choi Min-shik for the grand prix for the film “Old Boy” during the award ceremony of the 57th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes on May 24, 2004. / Korea Times file
Tension and violence sell, but this may not be apparent to the vast majority of fans of “hallyu,” the much-discussed “Korean Wave” of pop culture that has swept outward from the shores of the peninsula since, roughly, the turn of the millennium.
The two standout genres of hallyu, in sales terms, are clearly K-pop and K-soaps. Of the former, Korean management companies have come up with a winning formula, churning out a range of cute, well-trained and above all wholesome boy- and girl-bands whose appeal is very different from the rebellious, opinionated, drug-spattered figures who stagger across the stage of Western rock ‘n roll. Soap is similarly sugar-coated: Most dramas are centered upon pretty boys and pretty girls in pretty clothes and pretty houses/landscapes engaging in genteel, “no-sex-please-we’re-Korean” romances. 
Clearly these two genres speak to Asians: Hallyu has generated a massive wave of positive equity for Korea’s national brand across the continent, making Korea (arguably) the coolest country in the region.
But ― despite hopeful hype in the vernacular media to the contrary ― neither has won significant critical or commercial success in the West. To date, Korean pop artists have had no more luck scoring Billboard Chart hits in the United States than Korean soap operas have had in winning prime-time television viewing slots from Western Europe broadcasters.
However, the third arm of hallyu ― Korean film ― is on the cutting edge. Unrestrained by the fluffy-but-strict parameters that cage K-pop and K-soaps, new-generation Korean cinema has had no qualms in presenting spectacles that challenge audiences, embrace risks and shatter taboos.
As such, contemporary Korean film has taken on everything from shadowy Cold War bloodbaths (“Silmido;” Director Kang Woo-suk, 2003) to social critiques wrapped around man-eating monster yarns (“The Host;” Director Bong Joon-ho, 2006); from sizzling serial killer thrillers (“Chaser;” Director Na Hong-jin, 2008) to Korean War blockbusters (“Brotherhood of War;” Director Kang Jae-kyu, 2004); from zany action adventures (“The Good, The Bad and the Weird” Director Kim Ji-won, 2008) to harrowing real-life crime dramas (“The Crucible;” Hwang Dong-hyuk; 2011).
Of the new generation of Korea auteur, none is more avant garde in his mastery of the cinema of tension and violence than Park Chan-wook. Park’s “Vengeance” trilogy has done what no K-popster or K-soap has yet managed to do: Break beyond Asia and win both critical and popular acclaim among Western audiences.
Park was born in Seoul in 1963. While a philosophy major at Sogang University, he ran a cinema club and wrote on film. After graduating, he entered the industry, working as an assistant director, before moved up to direct his first feature, “The Moon is the Sun’s Dream” in 1992, followed by “Trio” in 1997. Neither made enough of a splash to permit him to make a full-time living as a director, forcing him to write as a film critic to make ends meet. His next feature would change that, dramatically.
“JSA” (“Joint Security Area”) exploded across screens in 2000. Released at the height of hopes for President Kim Dae-jung’s bold and unprecedented “Sunshine Policy” of engagement with North Korea, it was perfectly positioned to capture the zeitgeist. In common with the previous year’s North-South auctioneer “Shiri” it did indeed, portray what had been rarely seen before on Korea screens: Well-defined and sympathetic North Korean characters. 
That, however, did not explain “JSA’s” success. Based on a novel, it was a tautly plotted thriller about two pairs of South and North Korean soldiers who, stationed near the infamous JSA, the tense truce area in the middle of the demilitarized zone between the two nations, forge a dangerous amity. Working via a non-linear storyline, the film brilliantly blends the pathos of characters from a divided nation becoming acquainted with a mounting tension as their forbidden friendship spawns its inevitable tragic consequences. 
The success of “JSA” ― it was, at the time, Korea’s biggest ever box-office hit ― granted Park considerable artistic freedom for his next project. “Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance” (2002) was a very different film from “JSA.” 
Starting with a laid-off man attempting to obtain a kidney transplant for his terminally ill sister, it careens off into left field with organ trading gangs, kidnapping and terrorism. Stunningly shot, gruesomely violent and spiked with moral conundrums ― Do evil means justify good ends? ― it was a hit in Korea but only gained niche visibility in the United States. 
Park’s international profile would soar with his next film, “Old Boy.” Based on a Japanese manga (comic book), the central idea of this 2003 film is compelling in its simplicity: A man is locked up in a shoddy motel room for 15 years with no idea why. When he is suddenly released, with no explanation, he swears to track down his tormentors and deliver bloody vengeance. Noted for both its action set pieces and a brilliant central performance by Choi Min-sik, it was voted by CNN viewers one of “The Ten Best Asian Films of All Time;” the BBC called it “a sadistic masterpiece.” Its greatest tribute, however, came from the enfant terrible of action cinema himself. 
American filmmaker Quentin Tarantino had been deeply impressed by “JSA” and was blown away by “Old Boy,” a film closer to his own oeuvre in both style and subject matter. As the head of the Cannes Film Festival Judging Panel in 2004, he reportedly lobbied for “Old Boy” to win the Palm D’Or, the festival’s top prize; it eventually won the Grand Prix, the number two gong, that year. An American remake is reportedly in the works; Spike Lee has been named as a possible director. 
Park obviously had a winning formula. He topped off “Old Boy” with the third film in his loose “Vengeance Trilogy,” 2005’s “Sympathy for Lady Vengeance.” This featured a kind-hearted and beautiful young woman leaving prison after being unjustly jailed for a murder she did not commit and dedicating herself to tracking down the real killer. In what was, perhaps, an effort to top the shock grade of his earlier films, Park makes the villain in this one (Choi Min-sik, the wild-looking protagonist from “Old Boy”) a child murderer and producer of snuff films.
Like its predecessors, “Sympathy” was beautifully, if gruesomely framed and filmed. While acknowledging the vengeful emotion many parents of murdered children may feel, “Sympathy’s” dark climax has a strong suggestion of Nietzche (“He who fights demons must beware, lest he thereby becomes a demon himself”). The film netted three awards at the Venice International Film Festival in 2005, and Park was invited to join that festival’s jury the following year.
“Old Boy” created an audience for both its prequel and its sequel; the three films have since been released internationally in a boxed set, and are frequently discussed together. Some may recoil from their graphic sadism, but their ferocious power is undeniable, and what raises the “Vengeance” trilogy beyond those of most contemporary auctioneers is that Park acknowledges and shows the results of violence, rather than using it simply as a cinematic device to leverage excitement.
Since “Sympathy,” Park has made a range of award-winning films. His “I’m A Cyborg, But That’s OK,” a quirky romantic comedy set in a mental institution, won the Alfred Bauer Price at the Berlin Film Festival in 2007; his vampire film, “Thirst” won the Jury Prize at Cannes in 2009; and his horror short “Night Fishing” (2011) - shot entirely on an I-phone ― won the Golden Bear award in Berlin in 2011 for Best Short Film. For his latest project, Park has looked further afield.
Korean actors Rain, Lee Byung-hoon and Jang Dong-gun have all fared far less well in Hollywood than in Chungmuro. In 2011, Park ― who, among all Asian directors, has name value thanks to “Old Boy” ― dipped his toe into American waters with his English-language debut. “Stoker” a horror movie starring Nichole Kidman, is reportedly in post production. How it fares remains to be seen, but if Park seizes full artistic license and overcomes Hollywood convention, the film will no doubt be fascinating. 
Speaking more generally, Park has continued to make interesting, quality films, but thus far, none of his subsequent works have managed to re-capture the Hitchkokian tension that animates “JSA,” nor generated the shockwaves that his “Vengeance Trilogy” spread worldwide. 
While members of Korea’s fine arts community may well question whether blood-spattered revenge flicks are in any way an appropriate representative of modern Korean art, there can be no question of Park’s global influence any more than they can be of the perplexing popularity of violent films. “Old Boy,” ― and to a lesser extent, the other two movies in the trilogy ― are firmly embedded in the cult of noir cinema worldwide.
That ― plus the international honors showered upon him ― makes Park one of the most influential and iconic Korean artists of our time. 
Andrew Salmon is a reporter and the author of three works on modern Korean history ― “U.S. Business and the Korean Miracle: U.S. Enterprises in Korea, 1866 — the Present,” “To the Last Round: The Epic British Stand on the Imjin River, Korea, 1951,” and “Scorched Earth, Black Snow: Britain and Australia in the Korean War, 1950.”

[rubie]

Full article at the link provided, posting here related excerpt only
July 26, 2012
South Korean Films: How Do They Portray North Koreans?jbarky soompi Part 1 Part 2 

At the DMZ zone between South and North Korea, two North Korean soldiers are killed. Swiss Army Major Sophie E. Jang (Portrayed by Lee Young Ae) is sent to investigate. However, the people (A South Korean Sergeant played by Lee Byung Hun and a North Korean Sergeant played by Song Kang Ho) involved have conflicting stories.

Both North and South Korean troops stationed at the DMZ become friends. Many of the exchanges between both sides are memorable. In one scene the North Korean sergeant chastises his South Korean counterpart because his shadow has crossed the border. In another scene a South Korean soldier pretends that his girlfriend is Jeon Ji Hyun and the North Korean troops believe him.
Here, both the North and South Korean sides are shown as being innocent as school boys. However, their friendship has a significant limit. It is shattered when they are faced with fear.
Verdict: Once again there is no difference between both sides. (Seems like most of these films have that theme no?)
Joint Security Area: Friendship is made between North and South Korean troops. However, in the end there is an element of mistrust that can never go away.

[rubie]

September 4, 2012
Lee Byung-hun and Park Chan-wook help ring in CGV Yeouidoby Ji Yong-jin KOBIZ
New multiplex celebrates its opening with "Talk Plus" events CGV Yeouido, which opened in the International Financial Center in Yeouido on the 30th of August, is set to become a new kind of culture-plex. It's the very first multiplex in Yeouidi, holding 1345 seats across nine screens, all equipped with SOUNDX, a 3-D sound system that follows the images on-screen. Lee Eun-seon, head of CGV's Diversity Team, said, "CGV Yoido is a culture-plex that is different from other theaters in that it seeks to be diverse in its programming, has a specialized sound system and a unique design scheme. Our aim is to make the theater a trendy cultural attraction that will become a landmark in Yeouido.  
The venue will hold a special event called "Talk Plus" to celebrate its opening, where audiences will be able to meet actor Lee Byung-hun and film director Park Chan-wook in person. On the 5th of September at 6:30pm in the Business Theater of CGV Yeouido, Lee will talk about his latest work, Masquerade, after the film's screening. Then on the 12th of September at 7pm, Park and film critic Lee Dong-jin will have a Q&A session following a screening of Thirst. From September 5-16, Park's I'm A Cyborg, But That's O.K, Old Boy, Sympathy For Lady Vengeance and Sympathy For Mr. Vengence will be screened, as will Lee's I Saw The Devil, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, The Good, The Bad, and The Weird, A Bittersweet Life and Joint Security Area /JSA. These will be appear as part of two special showcases highlighting the works of Park and Lee.

[rubie]

September 25, 2012
Abu Dhabi Film Festival Announces Full Line-upBy NAZIA KHAN AhlanLive l Abu Dhabi Film Festival
The best of Arab and world cinema as well as Hollywood hits to feature at the sixth edition of the fest
The Abu Dhabi Film Festival [ADFF] has announced the full line-up of its sixth edition, running from 11 October to 20 October, and while it's not super-high on star power there's a fine selection of movies to catch. 
As we'd reported earlier, Richard Gere-starrer Arbitrage will open the fest and our fave silver fox will walk the red carpet with fellow actor Nate Parker, executive producer Mohammed Al Turki and director Nicholas Jarecki. The movie's got great reviews and there's already a strong Oscar nomination buzz around Gere.    
Also confirmed to attend opening night are South Indian megastar Mammootty and Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani. And then are the icons. ADFF will be presenting two Lifetime Achievement Awards this year, and the recipients are Egyptian screen legend Sawsan Badr and Italian star Claudia Cardinale. 
Overall, a total of 81 feature length films and 84 short films representing 48 countries will be screened at ADFF. The 10-day fest will also have master classes and workshops by regional and international film experts targeting emerging and established Arab filmmakers. 
Movies from the UAE include short film Murk Light, short narrative film Afwah and A Ride to Hell in the student short narrative competition. You'll also get a chance to see Palestine's Oscar entry When I Saw You, along with world premieres from Qatar, Lebanon and Egypt. 
Among the interesting Hollywood films showing at the fest are The Company You Keep starring Shia Le Bouf and Robert Redford, Zoe Kazan's quirky Ruby Sparks and Sparkle, starring Whitney Houston and Jordin Sparks.  This year’s Special Programmes include a Spotlight on South Korea, with all-time top flicks like Park Chan-wook’s Joint Security Area, Kim Ki-duk’s Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring and Kim Jee-won’s The Good, the Bad, the Weird as well as exciting new works like Choo Chang-min’s Masquerade, Hong Sang-soo’s In Another Country and Jo Sung-hee’s A Werewolf Boy. There's also a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Algerian independence that includes The Battle of Algiers and Harraga Blues. 
Apart from this, restored prints of classics including Lawrence of Arabia (1962), 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1954) and Singin’ in the Rain (1952) will also be screened at the festival.

[rubie]

October 16, 2012
Revival of Korean movies
By Rachel Lee The Korea Times
This is the 14th in a 15-part series on the stars and trends in “Hallyu” or Korean wave, which is gaining global popularity in Southeast Asia and Latin America. The Korea Times produces this special project in cooperation with the Korean Foundation and CJ E&M. ― ED.
“Old Boy” (2003)
If the 10-million milestone in Korean film industry is a good barometer, the Korean film industry is enjoying yet another renaissance since making it big in the early 2000s. 
The biggest hit of this year is “The Thieves,” which was released in July. The heist film directed by Choi Dong-hoon with an all-star cast including Kim Hye-soo and Jun Ji-hyun currently has been seen by 13.02 million people, beating out “The Host” (2006) that attracted 13.01. 

It’s also the sixth film to surpass the 10 million mark in the history of Korean cinema.Following closely on its heel is “Masquerade” starring Korean heartthrob Lee Byung-hun and directed by Choo Chang-min. After a little over a month since its release, some 9 million have watched the movie and the number is expected to rise.
“The movie simply reaped the success of the Korean-style blockbuster,” Jung Duk-hyun, a popular culture critic, said Monday during a telephone interview. “It’s one of the two major currents in mainstream Korean cinema today along with what we call well-made films. Now, Korean cinema has a full system set up to produce such commercial blockbusters, which audiences love to watch these days.”

Aside from these commercial hits, Korea’s auteur director Kim Ki-duk’s bleak-morality tale won the Golden Lion for best movie at the 69th Venice Film Festival. His film, “Pieta,” has also been submitted as a foreign language candidate for the Oscars. 
Korean films initially appeared on the international cinema circuit around the turn of the 20th century. A number of Korean movies were already enjoying global attention before “hallyu,” or the Korean Wave, took Asia by storm with K-pop songs and television dramas. Quality films like Kang Je-kyu’s “Swiri” (1998), Park Chan-wook’s “Joint Security Area” (2000), and “My Sassy Girl” (2001) are among them. But the big spotlight came particularly with Park’s “Old Boy” (2003). Since then, the world’s attention shifted toward K-pop. 

“Korean culture has received a warm reception from around the world thanks to K-pop that paved the way to enter the world market for films and television miniseries, and it pushed up exports,” film critic Park Woo-sung said Monday.
Also Korean directors are making successful inroads in Hollywood, if the ability to cast A-listers can attest to this. Park and Bong have shot new movies in the United States with big Hollywood names. Park cast stars like Nicole Kidman and Matthew Goode for “Stoker,” which will be released next year. Director Kim Jee-woon also recently shot his new film “Last Stand” (set to be released on Jan. 18, 2013) in the world’s biggest film market with actors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Forest Whitaker.

The rise in K-films is invariably linked to Hollywood as well.
“Hollywood has gradually been losing its monopoly so it is looking for new subject matter from abroad and Korea is one of the attractive markets for remake rights,” said Jung. 
Amid such a spike in the popularity of domestic films, movie exports are booming, reaching $15.8 million in 2011, a 13.8 percent increase year-on-year. A total of 358 movies were exported, 82 more than last year. It reversed a six-year contraction. 

More Korean films are premiering at international film festivals. “The Thieves” has been selected to open the London Korean Film Festival and will close the Paris Korean Film Festival in November. It was sold to such Asian countries as China, Singapore and Thailand even before its release here and is also set to be released in 12 cities worldwide including Los Angeles and New York. 
The country has also been the host of various film festivals. The Busan International Festival, which closed Saturday, has positioned itself as the biggest of its kind in Asia and eighth biggest in the world since 1996. The Jeonju International Film Festival, which debuted in 2001, focuses on digital, independent and art films. Other well-known events include the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival, the International Women’s Film Festival and the Jechon International Music & Film Festival. 

“Cinema is positioned as one of the must-do leisure activities in Korea and audiences tend to go for more popular films like Korean-style blockbusters than art movies or independent films these days,” Park Woo-sung said. “But this phenomenon won’t do anything good to develop the industry. Korean cinema should focus on its quality and content rather than just trying to go global and following trends.”

History of cinema in Korea
Korean cinema dates back to 1903 when people paid to watch moving pictures of scenery from Korea and abroad in Dongdaemun, eastern Seoul. In 1919, the first Korean film was made, a kino-drama “Fight for Justice” directed by Kim do-san. After that such silent Korean movies as “Arirang” (1926) were produced over the next few years with better techniques and production values. 
When the Park Chung-hee administration took office in the 1960s, seen as a golden age, it pushed a program of state-led industrialization and economic development in every area of society and cinema was no exception. It ushered in a more stable system through corporation-style production so companies cranked out films, spanning a wide variety of genres. Notable movies in this era include “Aimless Bullet” (1961) by Yu Hyun-mok, “Mother and A Guest” (1961) by Shin Sang-ok and “Sound of Magpies” (1967) by Kim Soo-yong. Korean film has been through many twists and turns since the golden age and finally regained its momentum.
For more information, visit www. enewsworld.com. rachel@koreatimes.co.kr

[rubie]

January 11, 2013
THN's Korean Cinema Style Week 7: Park Chan Wook – Joint Security Area
BY LUKE RYAN BALDOCK The Hollywood News

Next year will see three of South Korea’s most commercially successful and critically acclaimed directors present their English language debuts. Kim Jee Woon (THE LAST STAND), Park Chan Wook (STOKER), and Bong Joon Ho (SNOWPIERCER) have already proved themselves in their homeland, and here at THN we are taking a look back over their past efforts. Here’s our first look at the films of Park Chan Wook, join us each week over the course of the next few months as we explore The Land Of The Morning Calm.
Director: Park Chan Wook
Year:  2000
Cast: Lee Byung Hun, Song Kang Ho, Lee Yeong Ae, Kim Tae Woo, Shin Ha Kyun,
Plot:  A member of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Committee arrives in Panmunjom, the town that houses the Joint Security Area between North and South Korea, where she must investigate the murder of two North Korean soldiers.
Park Chan Wook was two years away from starting his Vengeance Trilogy. A trilogy that would include one of South Korea’s new wave’s defining films, OLDBOY. However, before any of that Park directed a powerful film of intensity and great importance; a film that can be looked at in a multiple number of ways, and pretty much sums up exactly what is great about film. That film was JOINT SECURITY AREA or JSA. Granted, Park Chan Wook had previously directed two features, but neither was received very well, nor is easy to come by. In fact, he had put his filmmaking career on hold to focus on becoming a film critic. Luckily, JSA turned out to be a brilliant film which is mystery, action, a wonderful friendship, and quite the educational experience, at least as an introduction, into the complex history and conflict between North and South Korea.

One of the most impressive things about Park’s JSA is that you don’t need a history lesson to enjoy it. In saying that, some knowledge of the ins-and-outs of the countries will enhance the viewing no end. After the country was divided in two a demilitarized zone (DMZ) was set up along the 38th parallel, within this DMZ is the Joint Security Area (JSA), where North and South Korean soldiers stand face to face, and where diplomatic engagements between the two countries take place. To see the JSA is truly a site to behold, with just a strip of concrete being the line between the capitalist South and the totalitarian North. Whereas this information will certainly go some way to explaining the conflict between the two countries, that is obviously present in the film, the complexities are almost innumerable. Luckily Park boils this all down into a very personal and humane story.
It starts on a dark night where we hear (but at this point don’t see) a shooting. It is soon revealed that a South Korean soldier, Sgt. Lee Soo Hyeok (Lee Byung Hun), has killed two North Korean soldiers in one of their border houses. A survivor, Sgt. Oh Kyeong Pil (Song Kang Ho) claims Soo Hyeok attacked them, whereas Soo Hyeok testifies that he was kidnapped and fought for his escape. Into this mess steps an NNSC officer, Maj. Sophie E. Jean (Lee Yeong Ae), a member of the Swiss Army who happens to be of Korean descent and harbours her own secrets. She’s the perfect character to guide us through this tale, and one of the reasons it works on an international basis. It also prevents the film from becoming one sided or leaning too heavily in one country’s favour, something I think is very important when trying to create a connection with the audience and the characters presented. After all, a lot of the western world’s main exposure to North Korea will be through the marionette of Kim Jong Il used in TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE and the coverage we see of North Korea at its most extravagant and bizarre, as that is what they want us to see. Park does an excellent job, thanks in no small part to the actors portraying North Korean soldiers, at representing them as humans with differing beliefs, and not the brainwashed robots North Korean’s are often betrayed as. Whether brainwashed or not is hardly the point, their beliefs are exactly that.

As the film works its way backwards, with obvious conflicting stories, Park does well not to pilfer a RASHOMON style narrative. Yes, there are clear discrepancies in stories, but when we do go into flashback mode, we are given pretty much a singular account of the events. The intensity of the film is obviously helped by the common knowledge of just exactly how different and at odds these two countries are, but Park uses powerful visual cues to enforce that sense of conflict. As the NNSC arrive at the JSA they must slalom through a series of blockades that never allow the car to gain any kind of momentum. As we are introduced to the supporting cast of neutral officers many native English speakers may be jarred by the delivery of certain lines. All the actors are speaking their lines in their second language but the discomfort goes a long way to suggest that these nations and characters could never really understand the true divide between these two nations. As one character suggests “Neutral has no place in this world”, reflecting certain peoples’ desire for action.
First we see Soo Hyeok’s rendition of events, where he is kidnapped when relieving himself in the bushes. Like all great mysteries, something just doesn’t seem right. Mainly the fact that as one of the corpses is riddled with 8 bullets, it seems as though Soo Hyeok was doing more than just trying to escape captors. As Maj. Jean arrives in North Korea we see ginormous paintings declaring “Rice Is Communism” and school children conveniently situated at the side of the road to wave at the visiting officials. Seong Pil is clearly not, what we may consider, an average North Korean soldier. When he meets Maj. Jean he is quick to boast about scars obtained in foreign countries. Immediately this opens up the character as someone quite worldly, and also hints at his acceptance of foreign products later in the film. During the autopsy Maj. Jean is confronted by the family of the victims, which she is told is a trick to manipulate her emotions, something the film manages to avoid. After an interrogation of a southern witness, Nam Sung Shik (Kim Tae Woo), ends in a suicide attempt, it is surmised that he too was at the scene during the shooting. In a blisteringly fantastic use of slow motion, Sung Shik floats past the room in which Soo Hyeok is being questioned in. This allows for a poetic moment in which the two share (impossible) eye-contact, which becomes a powerful moment upon a second viewing.

The next scene takes us back to long before the shooting took place. A group of tourists are being lead around the JSA by an American officer. A sudden gust of wind blows off a tourist’s baseball cap and it lands just over the line of the North and South divide. She considers it lost, but after Seong Pil picks up the cap he makes a gesture of offering it back. It’s perhaps a sign of how we’ve been conditioned to perceive North Koreans, but even upon a multiple viewing I almost expect this to be a trap. This action stuns the tourists who immediately try and take a picture of the North Korean officer, despite the soldiers of the south trying to prevent this. The American troop announces that had he been a South Korean soldier, he may be tried and hanged for what he just did. A playful boast or a terrifying truth?
What we are then treated to is a mesmerising series of events that lead to an extraordinary friendship.  Political commentary this may be, but it’s also the best bromance version of Romeo & Juliet I’ve ever seen. A tragedy wrapped up within warm moments, with the sense that everything is going to turn to richard simmons ever present. It all goes back to one night when Soo Hyeok found himself accidentally stepping upon a mine. Earlier in the film the heroic Soo Hyeok is said to have once disarmed a mine himself. We find out that is far from the truth. North Korean soldiers Seong Pil and later victim Jeong Woo Jin (Shin Ha Kyun) come across him, understandably distressed. The North Korean soldiers have some fun pretending they will leave the Southerner where he is, but they soon change their tune. Lee Byung Hyun gives an incredible performance throughout this scene (and many others) revealing to us the true weakness of the character which is in contrast to the strong persona he shows to his superiors. After the mine has been deactivated, the soldiers all go their separate ways, but the men have shared a moment that none of them will ever forget and as fate would have it Soo Hyeok and Seong Pil have a number of run ins.

Soo Hyeok’s curiosity gets the better of him, and he begins to throw notes over the divide and begins a correspondence with Seong Pil. One key thing that allows their relationship to grow is that they leave politics completely out of the situation. Their talks revolve around singers and other such topics. Once again Park removes the political partition and allows us into the mind of the characters. Soo Hyeok eventually steps over the line (literally and metaphorically) to visit his friends in the north. Eventually Soo Hyeok invites Sung Shik and the four become great friends. They smoke, show pictures of their girlfriends, and play childish games. Each moment is filled with warmth and charm, which makes the journey to the end even more painful, as we know how things will turn out. Most touching of all may be the scene that shows Sung Shik’s first excursion to the north. He is reluctant to shake the hand of Seong Pil, and is even more surprised when Seong Pil pulls him in for a hug. For a film with such powerful heart behind it, it’s easy to forget the tragic conflict that has brewed for so long. Seeing the southern soldiers struggle with shooting cardboard cut-outs of their enemies is a blatant reminder of what they expected to do in times of war, and it is jarring for both audiences and the characters alike.
Where it all goes wrong is a magnificently crafted scene. With a Korean ballad on the radio, the calming sound of rain beating down, one of the friends’ meetings is interrupted by a North Korean superior. The uncomfortable silence, the scrambling for guns, the futile pleading for negotiation. All brilliant tactics used to emphasise the tension in this Mexican standoff. It’s the first time the quad have had to consider their friendship along with their countries beliefs, and they have to do it with guns in faces. Unlike Romeo & Juliet, this is more than warring families, these men are having to face decades of what they have been taught. Park’s trademark handling of violence is shown here and it’s a painfully regrettable experience to see these characters go through it. There is no wonder as to why this film became the most watched film in South Korean history (at the time of its release), and even less surprising that former South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun gave a copy of the film to Kim Jong Il in 2007. This is a film that reaches the very pinnacle of intensity while also being a very important film. In a world that sees such violence surrounding politics and religion at our core we are all just human.
What To Take To STOKER? The foreboding sense of doom is the impression I got from the STOKER trailer, something Park did so well here. But to enhance that creeping sense of dread I’d also like to see the emotional connection between characters.
STOKER is released 1st March 2013. It stars Nicole Kidman, Mia Wasikowska, Dermot Mulroney, Matthew Goode, Lucas Till, Jacki Weaver, and Alden Ehrenreich.

[Gasenadi]

Thanks, Rubie, for the articles.  Fantastic how this movie has withstood the test of time and is being showcased around the world.

I saw it this past year during my LBH and SKH searches and was BLOWN AWAY!! In general, that has been my experience with Korean movies this past year. 

I hope and pray any Hollywood crossover results in growth for the SKorean industry and the culture it represents.  Hope it's not the other way around.  IMO, reaching Hollywood isn't as positive as it might sound.  (Spike, I love you!  But, please don't...)

[rubie]

January 16, 2013
Joint Security Area or Gongdonggyeongbiguyeok JSA or 공동경비구역 JSA (2000)
Credit: David Marshall Thinking About Books
Based on the novel DMZ by Park Sang-Yeon, Joint Security Area or Gongdonggyeongbiguyeok JSA or 공동경비구역 JSA (2000) takes us into a rather strange version of contemporary reality in which the mutual antagonism between North and South Korea mutually reinforces group standards of behaviour. The norm is a set of rules for engagement in Panmunjom. The armed forces of the two sides may literally face each other across a line drawn on the ground at the Joint Security Area, but may never interact directly. That’s left to senior officers and government officials, often working through the agency of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC). At the so-called Bridge of No Return, the Military Demarcation Line has a blockhouse on each side where two members of the North and South Korean forces stand guard twenty-four hours a day. At other points along the border, troops patrol but are not allowed contact. In bad weather and through lack of care, some patrols do accidentally cross over. From North to South is not a problem. The North has mined parts of the border and this can lead to fatal consequences. In such a hothouse, national values are taken for granted and the status of a continuing war is drilled into the troops who practice shooting at each other so that, should there be a real emergency, hostilities can resume without delay. However, the greater the rigidity in any social system, the more individuals may chafe at the lack of any opportunity for self-expression or the exercise of discretion. If the wrong person is in the wrong place, this can lead to what the sociologists call anomie: a kind of mismatch between the prevailing social norms and the behaviour of one or more people. In extreme cases, the widening gulf between the prevailing systems and the individual can lead to suicide. As a contrast, it’s interesting to note the behaviour of some of the troops along the Western Front during World War I on Christmas Day 1914. Unofficially, the troops fraternised, giving each other presents, singing carols and playing football matches. Sadly this moment of peace was quickly snuffed out by the officers and war resumed almost immediately with later attempts at truces largely unsuccessful. The book and this film detail the slow building of friendship first between three and then of the four soldiers guarding the Bridge of No Return. When the two South Koreans are caught drinking with their opposite numbers in the north blockhouse by a North Korean officer, the outcome is rather unfortunate. However, both sides are quickly to impose their interpretation on what happened. According to the South, a commando attack from the North abducted one of their soldiers and, only by great heroism did he manage to shoot himself free and return wounded to the South. According to the North, a rogue South Korean soldier crossed into the North, assassinated two soldiers and wounded a third. The NNSC is tasked with establishing the truth and the investigation is handed over to Maj. Sophie E. Jean (Lee Yeong-Ae) a Swiss national whose parents left the North in 1953. The two soldiers from the South are Sgt. Lee Soo-Hyuk (Lee Byung-Hun) and Nam Sung-Shik (Kim Tae-Woo); from the North we have Sgt. Oh Kyeong-Pil (Song Kang-Ho) and Jung Woo-Jin (Shin Ha-Kyun). Suffice it to say, none of the survivors have any interest in telling the truth. If disclosed, their fraternisation would be so profoundly shocking, life imprisonment or simple execution would follow. Unfortunately, our intrepid investigator notices a discrepancy in the physical evidence. It seems one more bullet was fired than has been accounted for. This would suggest the “official” statements given by the survivors are untrue. We then have a careful retelling of what actually happened and watch the political and practical outcomes. In every way, Joint Security Area or Gongdonggyeongbiguyeok JSA or 공동경비구역 JSA is a tragedy in the sense the characters suffer losses and some die. But instead of dealing with the larger picture of the state of war between North and South, we have it scaled down to the relationship between the four men who metaphorically and literally cross the line, and pay the price for being discovered. The two sergeants, Lee Byung-Hun and Song Kang-Ho, are outstanding while Lee Yeong-Ae is somewhat underused. Director Park Chan-Wook is to be congratulated on constructing so elegant a film for exploring how the anomie first established itself and then grew. That the two countries nominally remain at war and continue to reinforce the hostility is one of the sadder scenarios currently playing out on the world stage. This is a thoughtful contribution to the wider debate wondering just how long the war would continue if it could be left to the people to decide. It’s well worth watching. 

[rubie]

Remember this from awhile ago .

July 11, 2012 Fan-Poll: The Best Movie Performance by Lee Byung Hunhttp://everythinglbh.com/entry_view.php?id=2526

[rubie]

April 15, 2013
Shin Ha-kyun leaps into first action role‘I felt compelled to work on an action movie before I got any older'
By Lim Ju-ri Korea JoongAng Daily


Actor Shin Ha-kyun said, “I enjoyed [filming] running scenes, but a lot of the wire works were really challenging.” By Park Jong-keun
Just like the movie title “Running Man,” the protagonist runs and runs, sometimes rolls and even dives from buildings for almost the whole? movie. But don’t assume the actor would be a muscular, tough guy. The actor is Shin Ha-kyun, who is well known for his delicate, emotional portrayals. 
The 39-year-old has leapt into an action movie for the first time in his 15-year filmography. The veteran actor, who debuted in 1998, rose to stardom through the smash hit movie “Joint Security Area” in 2000, which is based on the 1950-53 Korean War. Since then, he ?broadened his ?range by playing a variety of roles, including a ruthless killer in the hit movie “Guns & Talks” in 2001 and a sharp-tempered neurosurgeon in the drama “Brain” in 2011.
Recently, he ?showed his striking screen presence in the exhilarating chase thriller “Running Man,” which hit theaters on April 4. The movie revolves around an innocent man who is falsely charged of murder. Well ahead of its release, the film heightened movie lovers’ anticipation by being the first domestic movie to be fully funded by a major Hollywood studio, Fox International Productions. As of April 14, its box office has attracted 1 million viewers. 
The JoongAng Ilbo sat down with Shin recently to discuss his newest movie.
Q. Since it is your first action movie, I didn’t expect you to do so great. 
A. I took the role since I felt compelled to work on an action movie before I got any older. I did most of my own stunts. To do that, I went through intensive physical training two hours a day for ?50 days in preparation for the film. I didn’t even drink during the production since I had to run and run every day. 
That must have been hard for you. 
It was really scary to jump from a four- or five-story building to another. I even have aeroacrophobia. But I could pull it off, I think, because I was fully into the role at the moment. 
I found some scenes a little bit absurd. It felt like the action effects were emphasized to cover them up.
More than anything else, the top priority was giving an adrenaline rush to viewers. The movie crew and I faced numerous setbacks. As most scenes were shot in crowded public places, we always had to ask people for their agreement. In addition, when we worked in Jongno District, central Seoul, we had to stop filming several times because of rain. On Dongjak Bridge, we had to bear a lot of foul words by passing drivers. [laughs] 
Besides action scenes, the movie tells the story of a strained father-son relationship and their reconnection, which played a part in drawing Fox International Productions to the film. 
What was it like to play the role of a father as a bachelor?
I felt some pressure. You know, I’m not even married. Besides, the son of my character was a high school boy. I didn’t know how to relate myself to the character. Then I reflected on my relationship with my father. It really helped me through the production.
How was your relationship with your father?
I was born and raised in an ordinary family. I think most Korean fathers sacrifice themselves to support their family, but most of them are not good at expressing affection for their sons. There always seems to be an impassable barrier between Korean fathers and sons. I wanted to portray that Korean sentiment.
I think your acting is especially great in nonmainstream movies like “Save The Green Planet!” and “Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance.” 
I did not intend on starring in only those kind of movies. It is more like I’m always seeking new things. I work toward perfection when working. But when I don’t work, I let go of my control. I don’t even make plans ahead of time. But I can say for sure that I will always be careful choosing my projects that can give inspiration to me and viewers, too.

[rubie]

May 3, 2013
Choco Pies 'Legendary' in N.Korea
The Chosun Ilbo
A sweet Korean snack is making international headlines. The U.K. Guardian on Wednesday published an article titled "Choco Pies offer North Koreans a taste of the other side." 
The paper said the marshmallow-filled snacks from the South "have achieved almost legendary status among Pyongyang residents."
"World leaders have tried aid, lectures, sanctions and engagement," the paper said. "But the long-term future of North Korea may be partly determined by a small, round, sugary snack from the South given as a reward to North Korean workers, say analysts." 
The paper cited Andrei Lankov, the perennial go-to expert on North Korea for the Western press, as saying, "Choco Pies are an important mind-changing instrument. It has become a symbol of South Korean prosperity -- and North Koreans read it. They are suffering and starving, but thanks to Choco Pies, DVDs and large-scale labour migration to China, people don't buy the old story [that the South is even poorer] and the government does not sell it anymore." 
Choco Pies were distributed in the Kaesong Industrial Complex, where over 50,000 North Koreans labor full-time. Because South Korean employers are banned from giving cash incentives to the North Koreans, the Choco Pies have become a kind of unofficial currency. They flow into black market and "are resold for three or four times their original price," the paper said. 
"Such developments demonstrate the population's growing disaffection and awareness of the world outside, to the alarm of the country's leaders," it concluded.

[rubie]

May 31, 2013
Song Joong-ki’s Movie Picks
by Jessica Kim TENASIA

Actor Song Joong-ki poses during a photo shoot with TenAsia. [TenAsia/Chae Ki-won]
It’s hard to deny it. Song Joong-ki, with his fair skin and bright smile, draws awe from both men and women of all ages. Whether he played a scholar on a KBS drama or wore a skating costume on an MBC drama or a doctor’s gown in an SBS drama, his face is always what the public considered his talent. But Song himself is not interested in his looks. His decision to take up the role of young King Sejong, despite the handicap that he would briefly play the young version of the character, seemed to be his declaration of the fact that he would no longer use his fair complexion to his benefit. His face, which he printed with fear and worry rather than his easygoing smile, and his voice with which he no longer made sly jokes with, brought Song out into the world, step by step.
His latest film “Werewolf Boy” was the unexpected result of a combination of what Song wants to achieve and what the public want to see of him. The film may have failed to fully describe a werewolf’s habits and the identity of the boy who held supernatural powers but it did well in delivering the message it aimed to through the boy. His acting, which transcended language and conventions, had the power to move people and in the end, make viewers fantasize about this young actor. But he doesn’t plan to stay the actor he is right now for much longer. “It was a project I took on with the thought that I’m saying good-bye to the young me. I’m not young anymore and it’s time for me to become a man.” That is why you may be able to guess his future, as a man, from the movies he chose below.
 Poster for film “Lost in Love.” [Cinema Service]

1. Lost In Love (2006)Director: Chu Chang-minActors: Seol Kyung-ku, Song Yoon-aPlot: A man and woman who were friends in college and were attracted to each other yet dismissed their emotions from a misunderstanding, come to discover their feelings for each other more than ten years later.
Song: If I was asked to choose my favorite Korean romantic film, it would definitely be this one. You may think it doesn’t contain any events or devices in particular because it’s about how a man and woman, whose relationship went wrong a long time ago, hesitate and repeat mistakes until they decide to open their hearts to each other again. But you can’t help but sympathize with the subtle story acted out by these two actors who do an amazing job. I’ve watched this movie repeatedly because I like it so much and I can’t even express how much I like the delicate chemistry that they show.
 Poster for film “Purpose of Love.” [CJ Entertainment]

2. Purpose Of LoveDirector: Han Jae-rimActors: Park Hae-il, Kang Hye-jungPlot: A man and woman, both teachers at high school, start dating each other without a purpose – only for physical pleasure – until one day, they start feeling there is a purpose.
Song: The movie may have the word ‘love’ in its title but it’s far from being a romantic movie. I don’t look up to the main male character in the film but I think there’s a lot to learn from Park Hae-il’s acting – he pulled off the character in a way that didn’t make his character seem annoying. I was into his character so much that when I went around for auditions, I memorized all of his lines. So I sometimes played his lines for auditions.
 Poster for film “A Dirty Carnival.” [CJ Entertainment]

3. A Dirty Carnival (2006)Director: Yoo HaActor: Zo In-sungPlot: A gangster improves his life by climbing up the ladder of his criminal career by carrying out a favor by a chairman of a company who promises to look out for him thereafter. But the gangster runs into trouble when he confides to his closest friend about his past.
Song: I actually like noir films much more than soft and cheerful movies. To the point that I’ve wanted to appear in noir films since my debut. And I think that Korean noir films in particular are the best. I like this movie to a point that I can’t even explain it and I think there would be very few guys my age that aren’t fans of this movie. I’ve learned a lot from him but I like this movie as a member of the audience when I watch it.
 Poster for film “Joint Security Area.” [CJ Entertainment]
4. Joint Security Area (2000)Director: Park Chan-wookActors: Lee Byung-hun, Song Kang-hoPlot: The common security area in the demilitarized zone of the two Koreas, undergoes investigation after a shootout where two North Koreans die.
Song: I’ve always like war films but I really like “Joint Security Area” because it’s refreshing in the sense that it delivers an unexpected message rather than just showing a lot of actions scenes and what a war is like. And I can’t say anything except ‘amazing’ for actor Lee Byung-hun’s acting in this movie.  Poster for film “Memories of Murder.” [sidus]
5. Memories Of Murder (2003)Director: Bong Joon-hoActors: Song Kang-ho, Kim Sang-kyungPlot: Two detectives chase a mystery serial killer case.
Song: I think I tend to enjoy tension or thrills but I think when it comes to movies, I fall in love with the moments where things just go in completely unexpected ways. In that sense, “Memories of Murder” isn’t your typical Korean movie. I watch movies I like often but I’m astonished every time I watch this movie. Bong Joon-ho’s directing was great but so was the acting. I envy the energy and intensity they gave.
Reporter. Yoon Hee-sungPhotographer. Chae Ki Won ten@tenasia.co.krTranslator. Jessica Kim

[rubie]

June 27, 2013
(853) Profiles - film director Park Chan-wook (I)
The Korea Times

[rubie]

July 12, 2013
[uK] Park Chan-wook's "JSA - Joint Security Area" at the Prince Charles Cinema on Wednesday 31 July
Source: The Prince Charles Cinema via Hancinema.net


For this summer's edition Terracotta Film Club revisits the early work from Park Chan-wook, the acclaimed South Korean director of "Old Boy" and "STOKER". The screening on 31 July follows days after the 60th anniversary of the ceasefire agreement between North and South Korea on 27 July. "JSA - Joint Security Area" is a tense thriller where an incident one night jeopardises the delicately balanced North and South Korean ceasefire agreement.
A box office smash in its country back in 2000, it features a younger Lee Byeong-Heon, who is now enjoying global stardom since he landed in the G.I. JOE franchise and RED 2. Prolific actor Song Kang-ho will also be in the international spotlight soon with the highly anticipated release of "Snowpiercer". In August, Terracotta Film Club will be playing the dark thriller romance REVENGE: A LOVE STORY. A serial-killer targeting pregnant women on the loose to coincide with Frightfest.
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"JSA - Joint Security Area":
Wednesday 31 July at 6.30pm doors open/ 6.45pm film startsTicket price: £ 7.50 (Prince Charles cinema members £ 5.00). Cast: Lee Young-ae, Lee Byeong-Heon, Song Kang-ho, Kim Tae-woo, Sin Ha-gyoonDirector: Park Chan-wookRuntime: 110 min. / Cert.15 / Action Thriller / 2000Country: South Korea, Korean language with English subtitles.Original Title: Gongdong gyeongbi guyeok JSA/공동경비구역 JSA Synopsis:
Set on the volatile Demilitarised Zone between the South and the communist North Korea. After a confused incident at night, where both sides open fire at each other, one North Korean soldier is killed and a South Korean soldier is injured. Hoping to avoid an escalation in the crisis, both sides agree to allow neutral Korean-Swiss investigator Sophie Jean (Lee Young-ae, "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance") to look into the case. When she discovers discrepancies in the amount of bullets fired from each soldier's gun that night, and when witnesses try to commit suicide rather than talk to her, Jean realises that the truth behind the shooting is much more explosive. Stars Lee Byeong-Heon (RED 2, GI JOE, "A Bittersweet Life") and Song Kang-ho ("Snowpiercer", "The Host").

[rubie]

August 14, 2013
Lee Young-ae Appointed DMZ Peace Ambassador
The Chosun Ilbo
Actress Lee Young-ae has been appointed a "peace ambassador" charged with publicizing the environmental value and peacemaking potential of the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas. 
Lee was appointed by Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Moon-soo on Yonggang Bridge, an off-limits military area in Yeoncheon on Tuesday. She took a walk with immigrant wives and Korean War veterans. 
Lee will engage in various activities to conserve the ecosystem of the DMZ, which has prospered since it has been virtually empty of people for 60 years, as well as peace, cross-border exchanges and development.

Actress Lee Young-ae (right) takes a tour of the frontline with provincial officials and soldiers in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province on Tuesday. /Courtesy of Gyeonggi Provincial Government Actress Lee Young-ae (right) takes a tour of the frontline with provincial officials and soldiers in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province on Tuesday. /Courtesy of Gyeonggi Provincial Government
A provincial government spokesman said that it appointed Lee given that she starred in the 2000 blockbuster film "Joint Security Area," which deals with the friendship between South and North Korean soldiers surrounding a fatal shooting incident within the DMZ. The province expects Lee's international fame to boost the image of the DMZ as a space of peace and eco-friendliness. 
Meanwhile, senior provincial officials met in Paju and Yeoncheon the same day to discuss the concept of a "DMZ Peace Park," which President Park Geun-hye suggested in her speech before the U.S. Congress in May. 
One idea is regrouping a vast frontline area covering the estuary of the Han River, Paju, Yeoncheon, Cheorwon and Goseong in a DMZ park belt. 

[rubie]

October 31, 2013
Park Chan-wook in Sao Paulo


South Korean director Park Chan-wook attends an information session at a university in Sao Paulo on Oct. 30, 2013, introducing his films, such as "Joint Security Area," "Old Boy" and "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance." (Yonhap) (END)

[rubie]

January 19, 2014
A cultural critical massThe rise of Kim Kwang-seok's posthumous career 
By Kwon Mee-yoo The Korea Times

Those close to folk-rock singer Kim Kwang-seok, who committed suicide in January 1996, said he was troubled by his albums’ lack of commercial success. His albums, including remastered works, have sold more than 5 million copies since. / Korea Times file
Eighteen years after his death, folk-rock singer Kim Kwang-seok continues to enjoy a highly-lucrative posthumous career.
Kim Chang-ki, a close friend of the late singer who wrote many of his influential songs, sounds rather frustrated by it.
“I remember seeing Kwang-seok in December 1995, a few weeks before his death. His album wasn’t doing well and he was personally in distress,” he said in a recent television interview.
“If people were going to like him as much as they do now, why couldn’t have they liked him a little earlier? After leaving the man entirely burned out and consumed ... all this talk about the greatness of his songs... I find this amusing.”
While it’s debatable whether Kim Chang-ki, leader and vocalist of the band Dongmulwon, was fair or not in portraying the lavish praise heaped on his dead friend as hypocritical and reactionary, his snarky comments underline how unlikely of a phenomenon the Kim Kwang-seok boom really is.
Before he was found dead at his house in January 1996 at the age of 32, in what the police concluded as a suicide, Kim had been among the many artists categorized as an “underground singer,” a media moniker for performers sidelined from the mainstream.
While Kim did manage to establish a reputation among more serious music listeners, he was never more than a big fish in a small puddle, rarely appearing on television and living off modest record sales and small concerts near university campuses.
It’s not that his death immediately boosted the public awareness of his music either.
“When I was in college, Kim Kwang-seok songs were appreciated by a certain group of students, mostly those involved in civic activism, who mixed Kim songs in the assortment of their songs used in street demonstrations,” said Hwang Kyeong-seok, a musician from the band The Film.
Choi Si-won, a 35-year-old office worker and passionate folk-music fan, finds Kim’s posthumous renaissance as perplexing as well.
“I entered college about a year after his death. When I told my freshman classmates that I like Kim Kwang-seok, I found no one who agreed with me,” Choi said.
“Tagged with the dreaded ‘underground’ label, Kim didn’t sell many records either, although he was appreciated for the quality of his live performances.”
Kim’s ability to sell records is no longer a question. More than 5 million copies of Kim’s albums have been sold in the new millennium, a staggering number considering a market dominated by online downloads.
While it’s difficult to isolate the tipping point of precisely when Kim’s intricate, heart-rending songs began to inspire the nation of music listeners, a good guess is the 2000 Park Chan-wook film, “Joint Security Area.”
The movie, which was the breakthrough for the director who is later credited for “Oldboy,” portrays the tragic fate of North and South Korean soldiers who develop friendship guarding the inter-Korean border. Kim’s songs, such as “A Letter Never Sent,” are used creatively in the film to dramatize the connection between the soldiers.
“I think this was when Kim’s songs began to appear more in television and commercials, mostly to create emotional effects,” Choi said.
In taking his own life, Kim cut short a music career before it reached a decade. He debuted in 1988 as a member of Kim Chang-ki’s Dongmulwon and soon pursued a solo career, releasing four albums and performing in about a thousand concerts, mostly in small theaters in university streets.
Now, Korea seems to be in danger of a Kim Kwang-seok overkill. Three different stage musicals based on Kim’s songs have been performed in the past year, such as the big-budget show “December,” currently staged at the Sejong Center for Performing Arts in Seoul.
Kim’s songs continue to be butchered by K-pop singers and reality-show contestants in KBS television’s “Immortal Song and JTBC’s “Hidden Singer. Television networks are competitively airing documentaries about Kim’s life and music.
An essay rounding up Kim’s diary, notes and unpublished lyrics was released last year. Musicians will hold a concert in his memory at the Auditorium of Kyungpook National University Daegu, Kim’s hometown, on Feb. 8.
Kim’s popularity has reached a level where it inspired German hip-hop group, Die Orsons, to release a song titled “Kim Kwang Seok” in 2010. Although Die Orsons members admitted they didn’t understand Korean, they said they were inspired by Kim’s voice, which “sounds like eternity,” and said they instinctively knew he “sang the saddest songs in the world.” That is a bold statement in a world that has already seen Elliot Smith.
Now finally appreciated fully, Kim’s music seems to have transcendent value across generations and time. The song “Around 30” is poignant poetry about the helplessness and the fear of getting old. There might not be a better Korean song about a lost love than “Don’t Think Too Seriously.”
“Kim’s songs call forth the music culture of the late 1980s and early 90s, when university music clubs featured folk music with acoustic instruments. The students who experienced that culture are now major consumers of cultural products,” said Kim Jung-wee, a music critic.
“It could also be said that Kim’s music lingers because it resonates with working-class people’s everyday life. Of course, you have to admit that his premature death benefited his popularity as it did with Yoo Jae-ha and Kim Hyun-sik.”

[rubie]

February 24, 2014
'JSA' leads German student to KoreaPleyer seeks to introduce Korean history and culture in Europe
By Chung Ah-young The Korea Times

“Joint Security Area (JSA)” directed by Park Chan-wook

In 2005, Benedikt Aegidius Pleyer happened to watch the Korean film “Joint Security Area (JSA)” directed by Park Chan-wook. He didn’t expect the film to change his life from being an ordinary chemistry student to an avid fan of Korean culture.
The 29-year-old German found a strong connection between his native country and (South) Korea through the movie that recounts an incident that happened in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas. Before watching the film, he didn’t know about Korea which remains divided since the Korean War (1950-53).
“Although I was born in the divided Germany in 1985, I was too young to remember the bitter memory of the division or historical moments of unification. But after watching JSA, I felt a sense of connection with Korea and developed an interest in this country,” he said.
Out of curiosity, he chose the Korean language as a minor subject while majoring in chemistry at university. He bought Korean grammar books and found it more interesting as his studies progressed.
Pleyer came to Korea in 2011 to enroll at the Graduate School of Korean Studies at the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS) and was recently granted a Master’s Degree on his thesis on the history of the rifle during the Joseon Kingdom.
Before studying at AKS, he previously stayed on Jeju Island from June to September in 2006 at Jeju National University. During the stay, he was impressed by the beautiful natural landscape there that deepened his affection for Korea.
“At first it was hard to adapt into Korean society because of the cultural differences, especially the food. But now I just understand its part of Korea,” he said.
While learning the Korean language for seven years, he felt the necessity of studying its history. “If one wants to understand a country, he or she should know its past through history. Only when understanding the past, we can see the present,” he said.
 Graduates and professors pose at a graduation ceremony at the Graduate School of Korean Studies at the Academy of Korean Studies at its campus in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province last week. / Courtesy of AKS
Pleyer said that in Europe, many people come to know Korea through Japan. “Many Europeans first encounter Japan’s culture and then know Korea,” he said.
But he said that the Korean films, especially indie movies, are better recognized than any others among Europeans. “Like me, the Korean films can provoke the interest of foreigners outside Korea. I think that Korean indie films have better content than K-pop or dramas because they have more universal appeal by touching on various social and cultural issues,” he said.
After graduation, he said that he will introduce Korean history to Europe through translations. “In Europe, academic research or books about Korean history are still hard to find. So I want to translate a lot of Korean historical research or documents into German or other languages,” he said.
The graduate school opened on March 5, 1980 to advance Korean culture through in-depth research into the humanities and social sciences, and to develop academic human resources to further the globalization of Korean studies.
Over more than three decades since its inception, the school has produced new generations of scholars capable of taking the discipline of Korean studies.
Since the first graduation in 1982 to this year, the school has nurtured some 742 MA and 408 Ph.D. degree holders. These graduates are working in various fields, in universities, research institutions and cultural organizations in and out of Korea.
“Now our graduate school is recognized as the leading research and educational institution for Korean studies and nurturing the next generation’s scholars achieving the global standards. I want our graduates to continue their academic endeavors for promotion of Korean studies and development,” Lee Bae-yong, president of the AKS, said at last week’s graduation ceremony.
“Korea should play a leading role in the global community and continue to inspire many developing countries as a model country which overcame economic difficulties and now thrives in cultural fields. On that sense, we need more experts on Korean studies to further research and spread the values of Korean culture,” she said.
The school is receiving applications from growing numbers of foreign students from both Korea and overseas, every year. This year, 43 students, including 19 foreigners, graduated from the school.  “We will fully encourage our graduates to grow up as the influential experts on Korean studies in many other countries and open the door for supporting diverse research and projects,” Lee said.